i smell gas

[val30]

my then wife decided to fill the hole in the floor ,this wasn't the problem but she covered the gas pipes and central heating pipes also .i came home from work saw what she had done and tried to explain neat cement and expanding pipes were not good also were do i fix the floor to.the next morning i carefully cleaned the cement away when hit the heating pipe i ran all over the house draining everything then carried on, you guessed it i then hit the gas pipe .to say i was lucky was an understatement

 

[Softus]

With a wife like that you call yourself lucky?

 

[val30]

yep lucky because i was using sds drill chiseling down to concrete which has flint as an aggregate one extra bad move and no me!

 

[Softus]

If you think that then you've utterly misunderstood the nature of how gas burns and the rate at which it's pumped through the supply.

 

[val30]

go on then explain

 

[plugwash]

afaict gas explosions require a lot of gas mixed with air and then a sudden spark sets the lot off at once.

i suspect if you cut a gas pipe and ignite the gas while doing so you'll just end up with a rather large smokey flame.

 

[Steve]

i suspect if you cut a gas pipe and ignite the gas while doing so you'll just end up with a rather large smokey flame.

I also wonder if the flame would be sucked back into the pipe? As far as I know, gas in the street is at fairly high pressure, then the regulator next to the gas meter lowers the pressure for use in homes. But i'm probably wrong!

 

[keyplayer]

Why would it be smoky?

 

[Tozzy]

Title of thread: i smell gas
My response: who farted?

Sorry lol just couldn't resist .

 

[libby lou lou]

Why would it be smoky?

cos your overalls are smouldering

 

[Moz]

tbh ........the scale for explosions can be small LEL ...

an any gas can ignite ........lol


crafty1289
yes you are wrong the gas will not ignite up the pipe , at most mains pressure is only medium , an their on trunk mains Never High/transmission pressure ..

smell gas.......turn off at Meter control , ring the supplier after venting the property ......then evacuate property an if terrace both sides

 

[plugwash]

Why would it be smoky?

ever seen a bunsen burner on the "safe" flame?

to get a clean efficiant hot blue flame from gas requires you to supply a lot of air.

 

[RigidRaider]

How do you think they produce all those columns of yellow flame burning out of nothing in disaster movies? Just bottled gas burning off, that's all.

My neighbour, a retired plumber with 50 years of experience, tested some pipework he had done by running a match along. Alarming until you realise that if there had been a leak all that would have happened was a little yellow flame.

 

[croydoncorgi]

Explosive mixture for natural gas is between approx 5% and 15% gas in air, IIRC. But how do you KNOW what the percentage is? And what about round the edges of the gas cloud? Looking for a leak with a flame is a Very Bad Idea indeed. Another possibility (apart from a bang) is that ther flame will run back to the actual hole, which may not be where you thought it would be. For example, in a floor void well out of reach where the flame will burn merrily away setting fire to anything inflammable until you get around to turning off the supply! In a word: Doh!

(And why WOULD a flame run back down the pipe? No oxygen available to support burning!!)

 

[iangh]

I reckon the 'flame test' was a common feature of old plumbers.
My uncle taught me plumbing and that's how he tested for leaks! erk.
He did live till he was 83- then died of a stroke, but I never followed his example- washing up liquid was safer, or now of course there is the wonbderful sprays.